This invention relates to electronic fuzes for controlling the detonation of weapons and munitions. Fuzes may include a Safety and Arming (S & A) device or subsystem for controlling high order detonation of an explosive device external to the fuze, such as a warhead or mine. A fuze may generally detect a number of conditions before arming and high order detonation. For example, a fuze may detect proper deployment before arming. In some embodiments, fuzes may be capable of detecting launch, flight, safe separation, elapsed mission time, turns-to-burst, and the like.
The S & A device desirably keeps the fuze in a safe or unarmed mode until various conditions have been satisfied, whereinafter the fuze may become armed and ready to trigger detonation of an external explosive charge.
In certain situations, it may be desirable to permanently disable or “sterilize” the fuze. Desirably, a sterilized fuze is permanently unable to detonate an external explosive charge.
Prior art mechanical S & A devices generally employ a mechanical interruption between the fuze detonator and the warhead while in a safe mode. Mechanical interruption may be accomplished by physical barriers, rotation or misalignment between the fuze detonator and the warhead. Upon fuze arming, the mechanical interruption is removed and initiation of the fuze detonator will cause high order detonation of the warhead. For example, an electromechanical S & A device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,906 to Van Sloun, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Fuzes having a mechanical S & A device have generally accomplished sterilization by initiating the fuze detonator while the mechanical interruption is in place. Thus, due to a barrier or misalignment, shock from the detonator is interrupted from reaching the high explosive or external explosive charge. The fuze becomes sterilized because the fuze detonator has been permanently destroyed without causing detonation of the high explosive.
Many present day fuze designs omit mechanical S & A technology, as the moving parts of a mechanical system can degrade, corrode, bind and experience other problems that can lead to failure or improper operation. Further, Fuzes having a mechanical S & A device are generally unable to be armed and disarmed remotely. Thus, the S & A device of a present day fuze may be a solid state device that is purely electronic in operation. Electronic fuzes are generally electronically controllable, and thus may be armed and disarmed via a remote command signal, such as a radio-frequency interface. However, because an electronic fuze is generally a solid state device, the fuze detonator is permanently in-line with the warhead. Thus, sterilization as accomplished in mechanical fuzes is not possible.
There remains a need for an electronic fuze having a sterilization function.
All US patents and applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some of the claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additional details of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additional embodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description of the Invention below.
A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification is provided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72. The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope of the claims.